Standardized Mobile Hookah

ABSTRACT

A smoking pipe of Middle Eastern/South Asian mechanical design, which is used to smoke tobacco and other substances while utilizing liquid, such as water, for purifying the smoke, made novel by the use of a coupler that allows the smoking pipe to be compatible with a multitude of standard, consumer bottle types, such as soda bottles or liquor bottles, as the liquid reservoir, which increases the versatility and transportability of the smoking apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The tobacco pipe of Middle Eastern and South Asian origin, known as a“hookah,” is differentiated from other smoking pipes by its use of wateras a means to cool and purify the smoke. Kline U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,204describes the “hookah” style pipe as one consisting of a stem and bowlsituated in respect to a liquid receptacle, such that smoke from aburning substance may be drawn from the bowl through the stem and into aliquid when the user inhales through a mouthpiece. The smoke is purifiedand cooled by the liquid, making the smoke more amenable to the user.The Kline Patent accurately described hookahs as being inherently bulkyand non-transportable due to the use of a liquid receptacle.

As with the Kline Patent, the object of this patent is a hookah-stylepipe with the advantage of water cooled smoke in a configuration thatallows for the ease of transport.

Where the Kline Patent seeks to ameliorate the transport issue throughthe use of a collapsible liquid reservoir, the unique art addressed inthis patent is the smoking apparatus' ability to utilize widelyavailable consumer liquid receptacles, such that the user may easilytransport the smoking apparatus without a reservoir and then acquire, attheir destination, a suitable liquid receptacle that will interface withthe smoking apparatus as the liquid reservoir.

The advantage, as described, is accomplished through the use of anadjustable coupler, affixed to the smoking apparatus, which mayaccommodate many different mouth diameters and styles present onconsumer liquid receptacles, such as liquor bottles or soda bottles.This allows the user to easily find a suitable liquid receptacle andattach it to the smoking apparatus as a reservoir resulting in afunctional water pipe.

The object of this patent is described as a hookah-style water tobaccopipe consisting of a pipe described as having a head that interfaceswith a bowl, to hold the substance to be smoked, at one end, a couplerattached to the head opposite the bowl that may be used with differentdiameters and threading styles of bottle mouths, and a separate openingon the side of the head used to attach a mouthpiece.

Attached to the head of the apparatus, and running the length of theapparatus, is a tubular structure with two openings; one that terminatesat the top of the head, where the bowl is attached, and another openingdirectly opposite, at the bottom end of the apparatus. A separate sideopening in the head is used to accommodate a mouthpiece with an opposingterminus at the base of the head, such that when a liquid receptacle isattached to the coupler, one terminus of the side opening is enclosedwithin the assembly.

The coupler (either built into or affixed to the head of the apparatus)when threaded on or otherwise affixed to the mouth of a receptaclecontaining liquid, forms a airtight seal such that when a vacuum isapplied to the mouthpiece attached to the apparatus, a decrease inair-pressure within the receptacle causes airflow to be drawn from thebowl at the top of the head, through the tubular structure, down intoand through the liquid and out through the mouthpiece situated at theside of the head.

The “coupler”, as defined in this patent, is an adjustable interfaceattached to the smoking apparatus, which allows the user to use theapparatus with more than one bottle mouth diameter, style orspecification. The coupler may accomplish this through three differentmethods, which are considered to be the unique art of this patent: 1)The coupler may be interchangeable. The user may select a coupler, whichpossesses compatible female threading specifications as the receivingmale mouth of a consumer liquid receptacle, attach it to the apparatusand then thread the apparatus to the bottle mouth forming a seal. 2) Thecoupler may be made of an adjustable material, such as plastic or rubberthat may flex around and seal with more than one bottle mouth diameter.3) The coupler may be tapered, such that it may fit inside and seal withmore than one bottle mouth diameter. Any or all of these three couplerstyles may be utilized by the pipe so that the user may utilize morethan one consumer liquid receptacle (such as liquor bottles or sodabottles) as the reservoir for the smoking apparatus.

The ability for the smoking apparatus through a coupler to use more thanone widely available, standard liquid receptacle is central to theunique art claimed within this patent, which is otherwise functionallytypical of hookah-style water pipes, such as the one described in theKline Patent. This provides the ability for the user to easily transportthe smoking apparatus without the need to carry the liquid receptacle,thus adding utility to the design not found in the prior art ofwater-filtered smoking pipes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is the profile of the smoking apparatus while in its disassembledstate.

FIG. 2 is the assembled smoking apparatus, which is the state in whichit is operable by the user.

FIG. 3 is a cut-away of the assembled smoking apparatus attached to aliquid receptacle, without a bowl or mouthpiece attached.

In FIG. 1, the bowl 2 is attached to the head 5 of the pipe, where thetop of the head 4 is made of rubber or plastic such that it may fittightly into the bottom opening of the bowl 3. The tubular structure 10has one terminus at the top of the head 5, where the bowl 2 is situatedand another terminus opposite the head 5. The side opening of the headof the pipe 16 may be connected to a mouth piece 14 by adjoining the endof the mouthpiece 15 to the side opening 16. The side opening 16terminus 17 is within the head structure 5, such that the side opening16 does not puncture the tubular structure 10. The coupler 8 may beattached to the head structure 5 by affixing the top of the coupler 7onto end of the head structure 6 or may be built-in to the headstructure 5 as a single piece. The coupler 8, affixed to the headstructure 5, may be fitted upon different threading types and diametersof the bottle mouth 11. Before attaching the pipe structure, consistingof sections 4, 5, 8 and 10, to the liquid receptacle 12, the liquidreceptacle should be approximately half filled with liquid, typicallywater, via the bottle opening 11.

In FIG. 2. the smoking apparatus is assembled and may be used by placinga smokeable substance into the bowl 2 at the top of the bowl 1, and byplacing on the bowl an appropriate cover, such as perforated aluminumfoil, and a heat source, such as ignited coal or an electric heater. Theuser may then apply a vacuum (such as by inhaling) to the mouthpiece 14which decreases air-pressure within the sealed assembly via the headstructure 5, drawing airflow from the burning smokeable substance in thebowl 2, down through the tubular structure 10, through the liquid 13contained with in the liquid receptacle 12. The air then exits thesealed system through the mouthpiece 14 connected to the head structure5 via the side opening 16.

In FIG. 3 the smoking apparatus is cut-away, showing tubular structure10 running the length of the pipe, with one terminus at the head 5 ofthe pipe and a second terminus within the liquid receptacle 12. The sideopening 16 is shown without a mouthpiece 14 and with a terminus 17within the head 5. When assembled and a vacuum is applied to themouthpiece 14, the airflow within the assembly travels from the top ofthe head 4, down through the tubular structure 10, into the liquidreceptacle 12, up to the side opening terminus 17 within the head 5, andout through the side opening 16 exiting at the mouthpiece 14 to the userapplying the vacuum.

Important to the novelty of this patent is the coupler 8 which may beeither built into the head structure 5 or may be interchangeable toaccommodate many different threading types and bottle mouth diameters.The user may have several different couplers that fits this smoking pipesuch that they may adapt the smoking pipe via the coupler 8 to manydifferent types of liquid receptacle mouths 11 (FIG. 1); or the coupler8 may be made of a flexible material (typically rubber or plastic),which allows for the coupler to be compatible with a variety of bottlemouth diameters and types.

The smoking apparatus head 5 and tubular structure 10 may be made of anynumber of materials, favoring non-corrosive materials such as titanium,anodized aluminum or stainless steel. The bowl interface 4 at the headof the apparatus 5 should be made of a flexible material, such as rubberor plastic, so that it may fit tightly into the opening on the bowl 3.The coupler 8 may be made of less expensive, adjustable materials, suchas plastic or rubber, or may be made of the same material as the head 5and tubular structure 10. It is assumed that the mouthpiece and bowl,which may be attached to the apparatus, are widely available smokingpipe accessories. The liquid receptacle used as the reservoir may be anyliquid receptacle, whether glass, acrylic, ceramic, metal or plastic,that has a bottle top within the specifications compatible with thecoupler 8 or couplers used in conjunction with the smoking apparatus.Typical bottles that may be used as a reservoir with the apparatus,include: vases, liquor bottles, soda bottles, or water bottles.

1. An apparatus for smoking tobacco and other substances that can besmoked comprising of: (1) a tubular structure running the length of theapparatus and a head at the end of the apparatus that interfaces with abowl to accommodate the smokeable substance, an alternate hole in thehead of the apparatus that is to accommodate a mouthpiece and a couplerattached to the apparatus, (2) wherein the coupler may seal upon morethan one standard of consumer liquid receptacle through the use of anadjustable material (such as plastic or rubber) that may flex overdifferent sizes of bottle mouth diameters, (3) wherein once theapparatus, with the coupler, is affixed to the liquid receptacle, aclosed system is created that results in the user's ability to apply avacuum (such as by inhaling) to the mouthpiece, draw airflow fromoutside the system, through the burning substance placed and ignitedwithin the bowl, down through the tubular structure, through the liquidwithin the receptacle, and up back through the head to the user applyingthe vacuum at the mouthpiece.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein theapparatus may accommodate more than one coupler, such that the user mayinterchange different couplers that accommodate and seal upon differentbottle mouth diameters and threading styles. Each coupler connects tothe head of the apparatus and the opposing end may thread onto a liquidreceptacle, such that the apparatus may seal with the receiving diameteror threading style of the mouth on the liquid receptacle, resulting in afunctional water pipe.
 3. The pipe of claim 1 in which one end of thehead, with or without a coupler, interfaces with the liquid receptaclesuch that a grade of inner female threads may seal upon differing malethreading styles or diameters of more than one type of liquidreceptacles.
 4. The pipe of claim 1 in which the coupler is tapered suchthat it may fit inside the mouth of a liquid receptacle and create aseal with more than one diameter of bottle mouth.